Alpha
by Deston
Summary: What starts out as a search for a chaos emerald becomes something much more. Action with slight Sonamy, Crails, and original character pairings. All characters except wolves belong to Sonic Team.
1. The Forest City

The leaves stood still in the dead forest. The canopy at this point was too thick for the sun to shine through. It was as if a demon had stolen the light and hid it far beyond any living being's reach. There was complete silence haunting every tree and animal close by. It was the type of place one could feel both perfectly at ease and utterly terrified at the same time. Thoughts came freely without the distraction of noise but a strange feeling of loneliness loomed in that desolate pit of the Earth. Even the owls and crickets seemed to avoid traveling this far into the wood for fear of what could not be seen or heard.

A flash of light suddenly went by. It moved quickly and without fear against the evil that had stolen the sun. The trees thrust themselves at the warmth of this light, hoping for any reprise from the darkness the bound them in their place. A sudden symphony of sound came from all the night creatures that had been recently slumbering. The entire forest sprang to life at the fleeting moment they were overtaken by their own bright star.

Then, almost instantly, it stopped. The being of light was now visible in the torch he had been holding. His green eyes pierced the night as he searched for something only he could see. He perked up his ears to the night and heard the same faint noise that had halted him. He pointed his head back to the void he had emerged from. He froze his body, and his breathing ceased as he focused all his attention on the voice in the distance.

"Sonic!"

NOW he recognized the voice.

"Amy..." Sonic said quietly, shaking his head. "Maybe next time I'll just keep going."

He looked up and noticed a faint object in the dark. It was like a small ember, moving through the night. It was mysterious and astonishing to him because it seemed that it was being pulled along by an invisible force. He stared at it, trying to figure out what it could be when he realized it was getting close. It approached slowly at first and then faster. He finally figured out what the object was and flailed in an attempt to dodge it. By then, however, it was too late.

WHACK! Amy's hammer had come flying through the night and hit Sonic squarely on the head, and immediately, he started feeling faint. He dropped his torch on the ground and reached for his head. And, just as he did, his legs failed. He found himself falling and his vision was fading. He hit the ground hard, and before he knew what had happened, he was out cold.

Tails, Amy, Knuckles, and Cream, followed by Cheese, emerged from the dark, with Amy in the lead.

"Sonic...you're...going...too..fast..." she stated, out of breath. "We can't...keep up."

Tails had moved near sonic and leaned down to make sure he was okay. "Amy, you knocked him out."

"Oops. Well...he stopped didn't he?"

"Yeah," Knuckles now interrupted sarcastically, "do you think next time you might be able to avoid trauma to the head? That'd be great."

Amy's face turned a crimson red and she planted her eyes, burning with anger, right on Knuckles. Tails knew exactly what was coming next.

"I would tell you to get out of here and guard the master emerald," she retorted, "but you're more useless there than you are here. Some treasure hunter you are! Tell me again, how many times you've had the master emerald stolen from you?"

Knuckles temper was just as high as Amy's. The group had been searching for one of the chaos emeralds when the whole incident occured. "You're going to regret ever having met me," he growled in the back of his throat, but before he knew it, Amy was in the air, heading straight towards him with her hammer out. He barely had time to react before impact.

"Here they go again," Tails sighed. This had been happening throughout the three days the team had been searching. It had become a common occurence and Tails had long since given up trying to get them to stop. If he had learned anything about those two, it was to let them have it out and stay out of the way. Better they let out all their steam then turn him into a fox-pancake. Tails tried to put it out of his mind and focused his attention on Sonic. Cream walked over as well, with Cheese hovering close behind, to see if there was anything she could do to help.

"It looks like he got hit pretty hard," Tails stated, observing the bruise on the blue hedgehog's head. "I'd say he'll be out for a good half hour at least."

Cream examined Sonic the same way Tails had been. She was too young to know much about first aid, but she wanted to help in any way possible. She thought for a minute while looking at Sonic and suddenly jumped, overcome with an idea.

"Why don't you go and see if there is a house or anything up ahead? I can watch Sonic and make sure that Amy and Knuckles are okay."

"Good idea. I'm not going to go that far, only about 15 minutes ahead. That way, I'll probably make it back before Sonic comes to. Just remember that if he wakes up, try to keep him from moving. He needs to heal for a while before doing anything strenuous. Oh, and try to stay out of their way," pointing at Amy and Knuckles. "I don't think even a hurricane could separate them at this point. Good luck Cream!"

"Good luck Tails!"

And with that, Tails pushed ahead into the forest. The last thing he saw fading into the distance was a flash of pink and red, as Amy and Knuckles got more violent.

"Why did I agree to this...?"

"Man, I can't see anything in here!"

Tails had been moving straight into the nothingness in front of him for almost fifteen minutes. The sun was still unable to overpower the thick branches above the ground. Tails looked at his watch and noticed it was 2:07 pm. It was hard to keep track of the time without the sun. Midnight was identical to noon and without any major landmarks to base distance on, it was hard to get a feel for how long he had been traveling. He was about to turn back when he noticed a small glimmer of light. He continued moving but looked up at it. The trees were becoming less and less dense and the sun was breaking through the barrier of leaves. Tails had been so focused on the light emerging from the trees that he almost didn't notice that there was a village in front of him.

"Alright! We can finally eat and rest a little! I'm sure that will make Sonic feel better and Amy and Knuckles seem like they need to relax for a while."

He stopped for a moment to stare at the village from outside. The citizens, he noticed, were wolves. It had been a long time since anyone had seen wolves and now he understood that it was because they had migrated there. A 12-foot wall surrounded the town in a big circle with one large building visible in the center. Tails figured it had to be where the most important people stayed. Other buildings were displaced in different levels around the lavish manor in the middle. Everything within the cities walls was beautiful and Tails could tell that while the inhabitants weren't "rich," they led enjoyable lives.

Tails looked at the outside of the city and noticed something much different. The first thing he noticed was that there were small huts outside of the town walls, and it looked as though people lived in them.

"That's strange, Tails thought. "If they needed a wall, wouldn't all the villagers live inside it?" It struck him as odd that the leaders of this place would leave any of their citizens directly in the line of battle. The ground outside was littered with dead grass and garbage from inside the city. The peasants outside the wall wore ripped, damp clothes or none at all. The gate leading into the city was enormous. Doors of wood, with steel to reinforce and support it, were built to block the opening to the village and kept out all intruders, but for some reason, they were open. Two guards were posted outside of the gate and were armed to destroy all that tried to enter without invitation. Tails noticed that one of the guards was chained by the neck to the wall just beside the gate.

"Maybe I can ask someone in there if they have seen the chaos emerald."

Assuming that the open gate was a sign of welcome into the village, Tails approached the gate. He began to jog as he got closer, trying not to take so long so that Cream wouldn't be left waiting. He was almost through the gate when the chained guard jumped in front of him. Tails skidded trying to stop but was unable to do so before running into the guard.

The next thing Tails could remember was flying through the air and hitting the ground 10 feet back. He was having a hard time breathing and felt a strong pain in his stomach. He looked up to see the guard approaching him. He looked remarkably similar to Tails. He was slightly taller and more muscular than Tails. He had dark green eyes and dirty grey fur, which Tails thought must be because he was one of the serfs outside the city walls. He wore one piece of armor over his right shoulder and arm and had a strange symbol on his forehead that looked like an upside-down "U". He approached slowly, and Tails noticed a look of sadness or despair in his eyes, as if he regretted what he had done. The chains rattled loudly as he walked closer. Tails managed to stand up and regain his composure.

"Don't move. You have made yourself an enemy of the village by attempting to enter without proper authority," the sentry said. "You will be taken to interrogation, where your will be expected to cooperate or face execution."

"Woah, isn't that a little harsh?!"

"This city has survived for years because it has remained unknown to all outsiders. We will not risk you endangering our people by allowing you to leave with knowledge of our location. Surrender or I will have to...eliminate you."

Tails could hear hesitation in his voice and his eyes were starting to glaze over. Tails could tell that he must have been forced to do this, and failure to perform his duties would result in some penalty for him. He noticed the guard put his right hand on the hilt of the sword hanging from his belt, ready to attack. Just as he began unsheathing the blade, Tails noticed a blue flash overhead. Faster than Tails could blink, the guard had fallen on his back and Sonic was standing right next to Tails, ready to defend him.

The sentry jumped up and made a mad dash towards the two, sword out. Sonic got ready to dodge the attack, keeping low to the ground and bending his knees. He smirked, confident that this guy would be a piece of cake. He moved much too slow and his sword only made him slower. However, the guard also seemed confident. He barreled toward Sonic as fast as he could, focusing all his energy into hitting the small blue hedgehog. He was only a few feet away when one of the leaders of the village intervened.

"Stop!"

The chained wolf halted dead in his tracks, and both he and Sonic looked at the source of the order. A female wolf stood just outside the gate, wearing a fine silk dress and a circlet. Her fur was a light gray, much more clean than the guard's fur. She had a mark on her forehead, different than the guard's. Sonic thought it was somehow related to the way they both dressed.

"Sky, return to your post, NOW!" the female wolf snapped. The guard wolf immediately turned and walked to his original position without giving Sonic or Tails a second glance, as if it had never happened.

"So, I see we are finally graced by the legendary Sonic the Hedgehog's presence. And I see you have brought some friends as well." she said as the rest of the group came into view. Amy stopped right behind Sonic and immediately bent over, exhausted from trying to keep up with Sonic. She glared at him, making sure that he knew she was not happy.

"I'm sorry about the trouble," she said through her teeth, glaring at he guard. "He must not have recognized you. It's quite a surprise seeing you here. What brought you to our part of the forest?"

"...We were looking for something.." Sonic stated suspiciously. "Who are you anyway?"

"Oh, forgive me. I'm Ayn, the alpha female of this city. Please, come to my estate so we can speak away from these peasants," motioning towards the two guards again. Amy had a feeling about this "leader" that she just didn't trust. The group started moving forward.

"Sure, maybe we can get some food while we're here," Sonic pointed out, licking his lips. "We haven't eaten a good meal in days." The rest of the group followed.

Amy stayed put. She meant to talk to the guard to see why things were like this, but she didn't want Ayn to know.

"Uh..I think I'll just stay out here. I want to...look at some of the flowers around here!" blurting out the first thing she could think. Luckily for her, it was a good enough excuse for everyone to believe.

"Alright, that's okay. We'll meet you back out here when we feel like we've seen enough. Make sure to eat something, okay?" Sonic was worried that Amy would be too weak to help in the search, but didn't want to go too deep into it. No one else needed to know that he cared about her as more than just a friend. As soon as the team had left, Amy moved towards the guard, trying not to make it obvious. She stopped for a minute to look at some plants growing on the ground, then moved closer, then looked up at the clouds, then moved closer still. She finally came close enough to the gate to talk to the shackled wolf, who was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed.

"Hi there," she said, trying to sound innocent. She was close enough to see that he was deep in thought now. Her words suddenly brought him back to reality and he planted both eyes on her.

"Yes?" he demanded impatiently, wanting to return to his dream.

"My name's Amy, what's yours?"

"Sky" The wolf had answered quickly, hoping that he could finish this conversation quickly and continue on with other things. Amy could see that being subtle was not going to help her find out what she wanted to know. She was familiar with the way he was acting, trying to hide his emotions so it wouldn't affect others. It was something she knew Sonic did, as well as Knuckles. 'Why are guys always cutting themselves off from everyone around them?' she thought to herself. She snapped out of it and remembered what she was here to do. She kneeled down in front of him, getting close so she wouldn't have to talk loudly.

"I want to know about this place." His ears perked up. He wasn't expecting her to get into the subject, and at first he thought she had no right to know. How could he trust this person with information about his past? His heart started pounding as the events were thrust into his mind again.

"Why does that concern you?!" he shouted jumping up and getting real close, trying to intimidate her. To his dismay, Amy saw right through it. She had somehow known that he was not one to do anything to hurt her unless it was necessary.

"I know you don't want to talk about it, but I think the leaders here are wrong to treat you like this. I might be able to help you to get away, but I need to know why you're shackled up to do that." His face suddenly became blank. Freedom. He hadn't thought about that for a long time. He had been bound to this village for years and had lost hope for escape before long. He felt his heart perk up and for the first time since he was imprisoned, he felt truly happy. He longed to run into the forest and find the one he had lost years ago.

"Alright, I'll tell you..."


	2. Past Events

After gorging themselves on all the different foods the city had to offer, Sonic and the team finally headed for the immense mansion piercing the sky in the center of the settlement. Tails had noticed that everywhere they went, all of the citizens had marks on them, just like the ones the guard and Ayn had. Most of the ones in the town, however, looked like "B"s with a long tail. He was also unable to get the images of the crude houses he had seen outside the walls to leave his head. He kept pondering on these things and before he knew it, they were in the palace, staring up at the magnificent architecture that adorned it. The ceilings seemed miles high and the rooms were large enough to hold a ball for more than 500 guests. They walked up a spiral staircase made of marble and polished to a brilliant shine. At the top of the staircase was a large steel door with another two guards (they had the upside-down "U" symbol) standing by. The guards threw the door open and inside was a circular room with a book in the middle. The floor changed from a smooth, marble surface to tile, arranged in a peculiar design. The group gathered around the tome and watched intently as it lifted off of the ground.

"This record holds the history of this village," Ayn stated, holding her hands out to catch the book. "From the first alpha to the youngest pup, we have written every event into this book. As you can see, the different colored names designate different groups. You see, as pups are born, they are put into one of three categories based on their personality, strength, intelligence and a few other factors. The three groups are Alpha, Beta, and Omega. There are only two alpha wolves, a male and a female. This mark on my head signifies that I am the alpha female. At all times, there are also a number of pups bearing the symbol, as they are the heirs to the current alpha wolves. Alpha wolves are given much education, as it is needed to maintain the city. Next down on the chain are the beta wolves. Betas make up a majority of the population and are the middle-class citizens here. They perform the normal duties that go along with most towns. They are given a moderate education to assist them in performing their tasks. Lastly are the omegas. These are the wolves that perform the necessary but unpleasant jobs for the village. As you probably saw, Omegas live outside the city walls because there is not enough room inside. They also perform the more strenous tasks by acting as farmers or guardsmen."

"Oh, that's what that symbol on all the guards' heads meant!" Tails exclaimed, greatly interested in what was being said. Sonic was barely paying attention and kept dozing off throughout. Cream had begun talking to Cheese, and Knuckles had turned his thoughts to the master emerald.

"Yes, alphas have silver names and have this type of symbol," she said, pointing to her own mark. It looked a fish, facing left. "Betas are marked by a symbol resembling a "B" and are written here in blue. Finally, omegas are given a mark like an inverted "U" and have names in this record that are black." She flipped through the book slowly, showing them all the names listed in reference. Tails noticed something very odd on one page.

"Wait!" Ayn stopped and looked at him. "Can you go back a few pages?" She turned back a number of pages when Tails saw it again.

"That's the page I saw. What does THAT color mean?" He pointed at a green name on the page and read the name: Sky. "Wasn't that the name of the guard that tried to keep us from getting in?" She abruptly slammed the tome shut.

"uh...yes, it is." Sonic perked up and suddenly found himself interested in what was being said. He wanted to know more about this guard and what happened.

"Why is his name different?"

"Well...I suppose I can trust you all with this story," she said as she let go of the book. It slowly hovered to it's original place in the center of the room.

"Sky was born like any other pup, and when he was born, he was taken to the highest room in this building, like all others born in this clan. There, a group of mystics live and study the ways of the world. Nothing is allowed to go there save other mystics and newborns. Trespassing is punishable here by death, for some of the things that are studied could change an unworthy wolf forever, causing them to go insane.

It was 17 years ago, when I was still a child. I remember the mystics were bringing him in and had to go through the foyer. Every newborn is celebrated by the alpha family and we gather to see it before it is designated in one of the three groups. As I looked, I noticed that he had remarkable eyes, unlike anything I've ever seen. They were different colors, which is strange for wolves. That is not what made his eyes so fascinating to me, though. I noticed, after looking for a time, that they changed. At one point, one eye was red and the other blue, and in the blink of an eye, both had become a light green. I wanted to find out why they changed in that way, but before I could find out, he had to be taken to the study to be designated by the mystics. A long time passed with him in that tower and when he finally emerged, he was an omega. I found that very strange because he seemed to have such a good heart. My mother told me when I had grown older that it was done because he had immense destructive power that the mystics feared. His eyes were indicative of the four elements, which he had the power to control. Only by keeping him unaware of this power could this village be saved. This went well for a time, and he remained oblivious to the power that was secretly stored inside of him. His eyes slowly started to lose their ability to change, finally settling at a blue color, which he still retains today. 11 years went by from the day he passed through this hall until he finally met her..."

"Do you understand the class sytem here now?" Sky asked Amy.

"I think so. That means you're an omega right?"

"Yes, I am. After my birth I lived the normal life of any omega in this tribe. I had no parents so I survived by thievery, which always left me feeling guilty. I either had to steal or I would die, and I had determined early on that I was going to live. I continued with this behavior until one day. I was 11 at the time and I was running from one of the village farmers. I hadn't been careful enough and he caught me trying to take some of his chickens. I just kept running for what I thought was hours without looking back. I didn't have to because he never gave up, always staying just a few yards behind me. I turned a corner when I suddenly ran into somebody. We both fell into a ditch right beside one of the houses, just out of sight of the farmer. I turned my head around and looked at the person who I had hit. It was a girl, wearing a nice dress, which had been ruined in the fall. She wore a circlet around her head and I noticed the symbol of alpha. I was about to apologize and beg for forgiveness since contact between an alpha and omega is forbidden when I realized we weren't out of danger yet. I clapped my hand over her mouth, aware that the farmer was almost on top of us and any sound might cost me dearly. She struggled, but I held her tightly, afraid of what might happen if we were discovered.

It took a while, but the farmer finally left, and we were left alone. I still held her because I knew she would scream for help if I let her go, but she had stopped attempting to escape. I knew I couldn't hold her there forever, so I decided to talk to her and see if she would agree to keep the whole incident quiet.

'I'm going to let you go now, but you have to promise not to scream, okay?' I tried to talk quietly because I didn't want anyone else outside to know what I was doing. She didn't respond, but just glared at me.

'I know it's hard for you to understand, but if anyone finds out about this, I'll be killed. As an omega, you do anything you need to to survive, and right now, I need to make sure that you will keep quiet about this.' My eyes were starting to water. I was certain I was going to be executed, and I have to admit, I was terrified. Luckily, it must have effected her somehow because she looked at me as if to say 'I understand, I'll pretend this never happened.' She wasn't like other alphas, who just cared about themselves. She felt what I was feeling, and actually CARED about me, an omega, the type of creatures she was taught were the lowest form of life in existence.

I slowly let go of her mouth, still petrified that she would give me away. I could feel tears start to flow down my face, and I looked away. I didn't want her to see that someone like me, who had lived in a merciless world, actually had weakness. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and for once in my life, it wasn't meant to harm me. I turned my head and looked at her, just realizing how..beautiful she was. Her fur was a light gray color and was clean, except for a few patches from the fall. Her eyes were a stunning gold with tiny specks of brown. I suddenly wasn't scared anymore, and instead, I felt secure, as if I was invincible.

'Don't worry, you'll be okay,' she said, smiling at me. 'Here...'

I looked down and realized she was offering me money. I remember feeling completely amazed. Not only did she show me compassion, but whe was actually offering me something without expecting anything back. I wanted to tell her that I couldn't take the money, but she grabbed my hand and forced me to take it.

'I'm Roe,' she stated, blushing slightly.

I replied, telling her my name and we both just stood there for a while. I was expecting her to say something, and she must have been expecting me to talk. Another couple minutes passed in awkward silence before she actually spoke again.

'I have to get going, so...bye.' I remember her just barely finishing the sentence before running off, and as soon as she left, I knew that I had to see her again. The only problem was that she lived right in the middle of the city. I realized I would have to sneak through dozens of houses just to get there and when I did, what could I do? It's not like I could just walk in and try to talk to her. I went on for days, trying to think of a way to make it work. I barely ate, and I didn't talk to anyone. I couldn't get her out of my head.

I decided to do the only thing I could think of; I was going to sneak into town and leave a note outside her window. I had spent a lot of time looking at the palace, trying to find her so I would put the note in the right place, and I finally learned where she stayed. I went well past midnight, just before everyone would wake up. The guards would be less intent at that time, tired from the night. I was able to get in with little trouble. The hard part was actually climbing up three stories to her window. I held the note tightly in my right hand and began scaling the wall as soon as I was sure the guards had finished their last patrol. It started raining lightly, and the stone of the wall became slippery. That didn't stop me though because without her, I felt something empty. All that kept me from freezing in fear was the image of her I had kept in my head for weeks.

I reached the window and looked inside. Sure enough, I saw her, asleep in her bed. I stayed there for a while, just watching her sleep. The threat of execution for what I was doing wasn't even present in my mind. They could have killed me on the spot for all I cared. From that height, I could see the sky beginning to brighten. I was almost out of time, and while I wasn't afraid of dying, I was afraid that I would never speak with her again. I placed the note against the window and used a mixture I had made with materials around my shelter to make it stick. I climbed down quickly but carefully, and escaped back outside of the fortress, into my little village again."

"Awww...that's so sweet! Amy squeeled. She began to get a little depressed. "I wish Sonic would do things like that for me..."

"I should never have done that." Sky retorted. "Things got a whole lot worse later on."

"But you really cared about her. Why would you wish that you hadn't met her?"

"Because then I couldn't have hurt her..." He was obviously upset, and Amy wanted to find out what made him think that.

"What happened?"

"My note had asked her to go into the forest, straight from the city gates and then turn at a certain tree that had vines wrapping around it in a design like an "X". I waited in a cave that I had found and used as shelter for years. It would provide the perfect place away from everyone else. I sat in my small little shelter for hours, just waiting. I was about to give up when I heard her faint voice.

It echoed through the cave and my heart started pounding. She had actually answered my note! I just sat there for a while thinking I must just be hearing something, when I heard her again, a little louder.

'You came!' I exclaimed, jumping up. I was smiling more than ever I had before, and she saw my excitement.

'Of course I came, I wouldn't just ignore your note!'

We talked for a long time about everything. I told her how I had to steal to survive, and she told me about how she had no one to talk to. We were both so curious and interested in the life the other lead, and that's when we came to an agreement. She wanted to learn how to catch her own food, and survive without others, and I wanted to learn why things were the way they were. We met every 3 days and taught each other everything we knew. Thought I was genuinely interested in what she told me, what I wanted more than anything else was to see her. I never got over that sense of security she gave me when she was around, even after four years. I just wish they could have lasted..."

"..." Amy remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

"I was 15 when everything came crashing down. She must have stayed out a little too long one night because someone came looking for her. We were talking about what we wanted to accomplish in life, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw one of the villagers about 100 yards in the distance. He had seen everything, and he was too far away for me to stop him. My heart sank to the bottom of my stomach. As soon as our eyes met, he ran, sprinting for the city gates, where he knew the guards would stop me from entering. I pushed with everything I had, running after him, but I failed. I saw him enter the city and head straight for the capital. Roe had followed me and now the guards saw what was happening. I felt as if I was just ripped out of a dream and thrown into a hellish nightmare. I knew it wouldn't be long before the alpha family sent bounty hunters to find us. I didn't care about them finding me, I just wanted Roe to be safe. What would they do if they caught her? She might be executed or, what I was more afraid of, she would be made an omega and have to live the way I did. No, I would never allow them to do that.

So we ran. We ran straight away from the accursed village, hopelessly trying to escape what we both knew was unavoidable. The hunters were trained in an unbelievably severe camp to be able to catch anything they needed to, and right now, they needed to catch us. I only knew of one way to save Roe, though she would never be able to return. I had created a circuit of tunnels underground to throw off any followers, and I thought it just might be enough for her to escape. I looked into her eyes, the same stunning eyes I had found so much warmth in, but now they had a strange look of terror in them as well.

There were only a few minutes to act. I explained to her exactly how to navigate through my maze to reach the other side. I was confident that I had taught her enough to survive on her and remain unseen. Her only chance was for me to keep the hunters at bay long enough for her to get a safe distance away.

'But when will we see each other again?' I heard her say, tears flowing down her face. I was unsure we would ever meet again, but I didn't want to see her sad.

'I promise, I'll survive and come for you as soon as possible.' I knew I couldn't promise to survive. I could not control what the alpha family would do to me, and my heart wrenched. I thought it was the last time I would ever see her."

Sky didn't want to continue. It hurt so much just thinking about it and he couldn't stop from crying. Amy's eyes were about to burst with tears as well, but she held her composure. He needed her to be strong right now.

"I'm sure she's still waiting for you. You just need to have faith."

After he recovered, Sky continued.

"For some reason, they didn't kill me. I was chained here and haven't been able to leave for two years. I guess I kept one part of my promise," he stuttered weakly.

"I just could never understand why they permitted me to live..."

"He was meeting secretly with an alpha?" Tails questioned, eager to learn the rest of the story.

"I remember the day I found out," Ayn recollected. "A beta had been sent out to find Roe. She had been gone for far too long and I was afraid that she had gotten hurt. I waited for almost two hours, pacing the foyer, hoping she was okay, when the beta returned, exhausted from running.

'My lady, I found miss Roe outside of the village...talking to an omega!' How could it have been possible? I had regarded Roe as a sister to me and taught her everything I knew. How could she disregard one of the most important laws of the land? I clenched my fist in anger, and immediately sent out the Hunters to capture them. The Hunters are an elite group of warriors whose only job is to find and destroy whatever it is they are after. Years of training goes into making them what they are, never losing their prey. Again I waited, this time in my study, for them to return. I felt an unimaginable fury towards Roe for betraying me, but Sky was the true object of my hatred.

The Hunters returned in less than an hour, holding Sky. He was badly beaten, still bleeding from his mouth. It was easy to tell he hadn't come willingly. They told me that Roe had been lost in a labyrinth of underground tunnels and that they had to pull out. I looked at Sky, my teeth clenched so tightly, I thought they would break. He looked up at me, and I went very uneasy. His eyes, which had faded to a solid color in the years before meeting Roe, were more vivid and alive than the day I first saw him pass through the foyer. I didn't know how, but there was something ominous about those eyes. Before I had time to react, I realized the mystics had come down from their perch and had joined us.

One of the mystics brought me to a seperate room to talk about what could be done.

'I want him dead!" I remember shouting, still holding on to my anger.

'My lady, you do not understand,' he told me. 'He may be what saves us someday!'

'What? What could we possibly need saving from?!' As I was saying this, the mystic showed me a scroll.

'That wolf is more powerful than you think,' he told me. 'Did you ever wonder why his eyes change color?' I had known it was significant somehow, but I never attempted to figure out why.

'Sky can control the four elements of this world: earth, wind water, and fire. We had to make him an omega because at any emotional extreme, he would have lost control, but only if he had some understanding of his power. If he was aware, it could result in the destruction of this city. By making him ignorant of what he was, he could not learn to make use of his power. But we have found use for him.

Before this age is done, we will face an attack from the greatest army we have ever seen, and it will swallow this city, leaving only death and destruction. Our only chance is to find a way to control him, find some way to use his powers the way we wish. We run a great risk by keeping him alive, but our chance of survival would be zero if he were dead.' I just couldn't stand it. My heart was so full of fury, and we could do nothing to him. I knew he had to suffer. He had to be punished for what he did. I knew just what could cause him that unrelenting pain I felt now, eating at my insides. I walked back to the foyer, where he had been taken. He looked me straight in the eye, no fear or regret present. He was not afraid to die, because he knew he had saved Roe, and that's all he cared about.

'You...will regret ever having crossed me! From this day forward, you will be senteced to a life of labor. You will be chained just outside the gates and be a guard, never allowed to leave. You will remain barely out of reach of the one place you are truly free, and the one person who cared about you. You made a horrible mistake, omega, and I can only hope that you never see happiness again, as long as you live! Send him away.'

They dragged him away, and for two years he has remained there, barely given enough food and water to survive and made to never sleep. Since then, his eyes faded again, more quickly than before, because he felt the highest level of sorrow one can feel.

"Woah..." Sonic added, the first thing he had said since they got into the palace.

"That's so sad," Tails commented.

"It may be a tragedy, but it had to be done." Ayn said, trying to turn to other subjects. She turned an eye to a clock standing opposite the door. "Oh, it's getting late! You must all be tired from your search. Why don't you stay here the night so you can regain some strength?"

"Yeah, that sounds good," Sonic sighed. "My legs could use a break."

"Your pink friend was already told and has gone to one of the rooms in the inn. We reserved three rooms for you. One for Tails and Knuckles, one for Cream and her pet, and one for the lovely couple."

"Couple?!" Sonic exclaimed. "Uh...we're not a couple!" Tails and Knuckles chuckled at the mention of the idea.

"Come on Sonic, it's not that bad," Tails said reassuringly. Knuckles just kept laughing.

"Man, I didn't know you felt THAT way about her!" Knuckles could barely control himself, and Sonic punched him hard on the shoulder.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I just assumed..." Ayn stammered, just as a beta entered.

"My lady, the guest suites are ready."

"Thank you," she said to the beta, as she sent him away.

"Oh fine, I'll stay in the same room as Amy..." Sonic knew that Knuckles would never stay in the same room as Amy, and neither would Tails. Creams room was made for younger guests, so that wouldn't do either. They headed for the inn and got settled. Amy was ecstatic that Sonic was staying in the same room as her.

"Isn't this great! Now we get to spend all night watching movies and playing games and just talking!" Sonic sighed. He wasn't bothered so much by actually staying in the same room. He just couldn't stand Amy when she got like this. He managed to get himself to look tired, faking a yawn.

"I'd love to Amy, but I'm exhausted. I'm gonna hit the hay." He plopped down on the bed and managed to fall asleep. Amy sighed, somewhat depressed. She began thinking about Sky again and was reminded of how horrible she thought the alphas were for making him lose Roe. Amy knew exactly what it felt like to be without someone you love. Sonic ran away all the time and it left her with a horrible feeling in her stomach.

"I won't let him feel that way anymore!" she said to herself. "I'm going to set him free and help him find Roe."


	3. Reunion

It was a very cold night, and frost formed on the ground. Sonic woke up in the middle of the night, shivering under his blanket. He looked over to the window.

"Damn, we must have left it open last night." He walked over to the window, huddled up in the blanket, and closed it quickly. He turned around, still shivering, and was about to return to bed when he realized Amy was missing. At first, he wasn't too worried.

"She must be in the bathroom." That's when he noticed that her shoes were gone too, and he got anxious. He felt a small breeze and looked over at the door. It had been open slightly and he noticed something was attached to the door. He closed the door, still feeling the cold of the night and picked up the piece of paper, now very nervous that something had happened.

"Sonic,

I have left the city. The alphas here were wrong to chain that guard up and I'm going to do what is right. Don't try to follow me, because I'll be long gone before you read this. I can't explain in words how much it hurts me to have to leave you, but I am sure we will meet again, and maybe then, we can truly be together.

With Love,

Amy Rose"

Sonic felt fear take over his body. Of course he was afraid that the innocent people in the city might die, but his mind wasn't on that. He hadn't told anyone how he really felt about Amy because he had never known. At just that moment he realized that he couldn't live without her. Thoughts of the possible danger she was in flashed through his head. It was freezing outside, and she was with a creature that held so much power. He was so deep in thought that he hadn't realized he was running. His feet were carrying him out of the city. He felt the biting cold and looked at the ground, noticing that Amy had unknowingly made footprints in the frost. He reached the gate and saw one of the guards laying unconscious at his post. The chains that had held Sky were broken, and the footprints continued into the forest. The choas emerald would have to wait.

He took off, sprinting through the forest, dodging trees and brush. The canopy covered the sky, leaving no stars to light the way, but he just kept running. He felt like he was moving at the speed of light, but not going anywhere. The ground seemed to disappear beneath him, like his feet were flailing in the open air. He tried to figure out how he could find her in this void. What he DID find was a tunnel.

Sonic stopped his mad dash, and moved more slowly, not knowing what could be in the pit. He walked straight down it for a time, slowly losing hope that he would be able to find Amy. His legs were getting tired, and he started losing feeling in his fingers and toes. 'Amy must be freezing right now," he thought to himself. "I've got to find her."

Just then, there was a faint light. Sonic had no idea what the light was coming from, but for some reason, he could tell it was good, so he started running again. He saw the light getting closer, and started running faster. All of a sudden, he ran into the light and realized he wasn't in the forest anymore. He must have been gone longer than he thought, because he could see the sun starting to shine over the horizon.

"I hope the others won't be too worried," he thought to himself, looking around. The trees had disappeared and what he saw in front of him was a rolling green plain, stretching out for miles. Far off he could see great mountains and to his left, the ocean. Clouds dotted the sky overhead in various designs. Sonic just stared for a time, taking in the beauty of the scenery. How could a forest so dark and lifeless be so close to this stunning world? He lost his concentration, forgetting all about why he was there. When he finally looked at the ground beneath him, he saw that some of the grass had been pressed down.

He suddenly broke free from his daze and pushed ahead, still following the marks Amy had left. He was determined to catch her before she and Sky went too far. His eyes traced the path he was following, and way ahead he could see the two of them, just specks in the landscape. Sonic's heart felt a hundred pounds lighter. His feet started moving faster, and he found himself sprinting towards them. He hadn't noticed how tired or hungry he was, just how much he wanted to reach them. Only 100 yards away now, they were clearly visible. They had stopped, and they appeared to be sleeping. It had taken a while for Sonic to get there, running at his speed, so their journey must have taken much longer. When he arrived, there was a pile of embers burning nearby. Sonic looked at Amy and thought about how peaceful she looked asleep. He didn't want to move or make a sound for fear of disturbing her delicate form. She smiled, and it made Sonic feel warm.

He moved his foot stepped on a twig that had apparently escaped the fire, and Amy's eyes opened slowly. She looked at him, still tired from the trip.

"Sonic?" she whispered, smiling faintly. She was so innocent and kind, and Sonic felt guilt bubble in his stomach. He remembered all the things he had done to hurt her, and she still admired him more than anything in the world. She tried to force her eyes open, wanting to greet the blue hedgehog, but they were too heavy, and before long, she had gone to sleep again. Sonic just watched her sleep for a time, completely unaware of what was coming.

He heard a very faint noise behind him, and out of impulse, dove to his left. He turned around quickly to see Sky standing there, his sword where Sonic had stood less than a second earlier. Sky had woken up while Sonic was watching Amy and had creeped up behind him. Sky knew nothing about Sonic, only that he had fought him when they first met, and he was not very trusting. 'How do I know he hasn't come to capture me and Amy,' he thought to himself. His omega instinct had taught him to do anything to survive, even kill, and Sky was convinced that was the only way to stay alive.

At the same moment, Sonic had remembered what Ayn told him about Sky. If the story was true, he needed to be returned to the city before he caused any damage. He also considered that Amy could be at risk just being near Sky. 'No, I won't let him do anything to hurt her,' he said to himself, feeling more of a hatred for the wolf.

Amy had been suprised by the attack and had finally awaken. She no longer felt fatigued, but instead was taken over by fear. She knew Sonic enough to understand he would never turn down a fight. Sky was going to be in for a hell of a challenge. However, she had also learned that Sky was unbelievably determined, and if he felt that battle was necessary to find, Roe, he would do it. This wouldn't be just another fight for Sonic either. All she could imagine was one of them seriously hurt or dead, and her tears welled up.

"No, stop!" she screamed, trying to ge their attention, but they were already at it. Sky had rushed Sonic head on, his blade up, ready to strike. Sonic chuckled. He was much too fast for an attack like that to be effective. Just as Sky's sword was coming down, about to end Sonic's life, he jumped up landing behind Sky. 'This guys will be no problem,' he thought to himself. His ego had lowered his guard and when he turned to face Sky again, there he was, only a foot away. Sky's sword sliced the air, and had he not ducked at just the right time, it would have sliced through Sonic as well. Sonic kicked out Sky's legs, leaving him on his back, and retreated a safe distance. Sonic knew he had underestimated him.

Sky jumped onto his feet quickly and bared his teeth. Sonic noticed he had changed. He looked stronger and more serious as he again rushed Sonic. He was slightly faster as well. Sonic jumped back again, feeling more worried. Maybe this had been what Ayn was talking about. Amy continued to try to stop Sky, but he seemed to be lost in another world, almost as if he was sleepwalking. Nothing she said had any effect at all on the possessed wolf.

Sonic continued to dodge blow after blow from Sky, but he noticed he was getting quicker. After nearly a half-hour of the duel, Sonic stumbled, falling head first onto the ground. He turned, realizing he had made a big mistake, and that it may be his last. Sky was right behind him, as expected, and he was about to exact a fatal blow to the hedgehog.

"Sky!"

A voice could be heard, but it wasn't Amy's. Like a key to a door, the voice opened up a gate, bringing Sky back to reality. He dropped his weapon, bearing an expression of disbelief. All his memories returned, flooding his mind to the point of bursting. He turned his head, his face unchanging, and his heart became lighter. After two years of pain and agony, he had found her.

Roe stood 20 yards away, her face bright with joy. Tears were flowing from her eyes like a stream. She had grown since she was forced to flee the city. She was more mature, and she no longer wore the circlet that was given to her by the alphas. Her mark was faded, and her fur resembled Sky's, dirty and matted. None of it mattered to Sky, though. To him, she was still more beautiful than anything he had seen in his own life.

He could no longer hold back. Sky could feel his cheeks become wet as tears rolled down his face. He was so lost in this feeling of pure happiness, he could not express it. His face remained glued in that same expression as he started to walk towards Roe. He was certain it must have been a dream. She just stood in the same spot, too filled with happiness to move.

Sky finally reached her, and she threw her arms around him, hugging him so hard he felt he may pass out. He realized this could't be a dream. It was too real and too good to be one of his dreams. Since he lost her, he had had nothing but nightmares every night that tore at his insides. He no longer held back, holding her tight against him. Neither of them wanted to let go, too afraid of losing the other again. They said nothing, only embracing each other for what, to them, seemed like forever.

"That's so sweet!" Amy noted, trying to keep herself from crying. Meanwhile, Sonic had recovered and regained his confident and cocky composure.

"Hey, I'm not finished with you yet!" Sonic exclaimed, feeling humiliated that he was almost beaten. He had not been careful enough, but now he knew his mistake.

"Leave him alone Sonic! Can't you see he's finally happy?! You are so inconsiderate sometimes!!" Amy's eyes burned with anger at Sonic's comment. Although his heartlessness at the wolves situation made her furious, she was more upset that he was never even near that compassionate to her. Amy was sure that as far as he was concerned, she could completely disappear without a trace and it would mean nothing to him.

"Inconsiderate?! I ran all this way just to save you from this psycho!" Sonic became very defensive, sure that he was doing the right thing.

"Psycho?! You don't even know who he is or what he's been through!"

"Are you kidding?! I know plenty about him, and I need to get him back to the village before he causes any real damage!"

"No, I'll never let you take him back there! He was so miserable!"

"Do you even know what he's capable of?! You put that whole city in trouble by freeing him!"

"Chaining him to a wall and keeping him from seeing someone he really cares about was completely inhumane!"

"Who cares?! He's a monster!" The last comment hit Amy hard. She couldn't hold in all her frustration and sadness anymore, and she started sobbing.

"Why are you so heartless Sonic? Don't you think of anyone else but yourself?" She couldn't take it anymore. All she knew is that she had to be as far away from Sonic as possible at that moment. She turned around and just ran. No destination in mind, just away. Sonic could see her slowly shrinking as she went over a hill and disappeared form sight. Sonic felt it almost immediately. Guilt hit right in the pit of his stomach, almost making him sick, but he didn't understand. He was going to make sure all the people in the village were safe. He did care about Amy, but he always thought that it was better to benefit many than to benefit a few. If he was doing what he thought was best, why was this feeling plaguing him?

"She's a very special girl," Sky chimed in. He and Roe had heard the whole argument. "I can tell that she cares about you more than anything, even when you are yelling at each other like that. For god's sake, she wouldn't shut up about how brave and cute and perfect you are."

"I know..." Sonic sighed. 'There's that feeling again' he thought to himself, shame devouring his insides.

"...A monster, huh?" Sonic realized that Sky had no idea what he was or what he could possibly do. Sonic proceeded in telling him as much as he knew, everything from why he was chained up to the power he held unknowingly. Sky felt depression wash over him. He was nothing more than a tool for those damn Alphas from the beginning.

"To think that all along, I was being used. I was nothing more than a slave..." Sky muttered, barely audible. "All that anger and hatred I had when fighting you...that was that power, wasn't it? I guess that explains why you were so intent on finding us then. You're afraid I'll destroy them."

"Uh...yeah, that sounds good." Sonic stuttered. Unfortunately for him, Roe sensed his anxiety.

"That wasn't the only reason though, was it?" Sonic looked away. He hadn't even told Tails about what he had been feeling lately. Why would he divulge his feelings to two strangers when he couldn't bring himself to even talk to his closest friend. He searched his mind for some way to avoid the conversation, becoming nervous when his mind returned nothing.

"I know you don't exactly trust me," Roe explained, placing her hand on Sonic's shoulder. "But I think it will be in the best interest of both you and your friend if you let me help." Maybe it was the peacful breeze that blew by him, cooling his face and blowing leaves all around him. Maybe it was the now bright sun, hanging in the sky, shining brightly in his eyes. But something at that moment just told him that he had to tell her. For himself and for Amy.

"...I..thought she was in trouble..." Sonic looked down, averting his eyes from either of the wolves that now watched him. "She...means a lot...to me.."

"If you were just trying to protect her, then you need to find her and let her know. You don't want to lose her over a misunderstanding." Sky just looked right at Sonic, sympathetic to what he must be feeling. "If you let her walk out of your life, you're going to be miserable for years. Trust me, I know." He looked at Roe as he said this and smiled, still just glad to finally see her again.

Sonic slowly got on his feet. "Alright." He regained his cocky smile, aware of what he had to do. "I'll find her." At that, he sped of in the direction he had last seen Amy headed. A trail of dust left Sky and Roe coughing, desperate for fresh air.

"Damn, how can he run like that?" Sky choked. "I'm gonna break his legs the next time he does that!" he exclaimed, still struggling for air as he saw a tiny blue speck disappear into the green mountain scenery.


	4. Mystic Prophesy

All characters (except wolves) and chaos emeralds are property of Sonic Team. Review is nice. I like!

--

Tails shot up to a sitting position on the bed. The curtains were closed and the light was still off. Tails took a second to look around when he noticed Knuckles positioned awkwardly on the bed beside his. Somehow, he had managed to turn completely around so that his feet were now near where the pillow should go. His left arm draped over one side of the bed. One foot was placed neatly on the headboard and the other was comfortably placed on the pillow. His air of seriousness had washed away as he lay on the matress, now appearing almost sweet. Tails shook his head at the sight of his supposedly headstrong friend before hearing a knocking at the door.

Tails quickly threw his sheets aside and rushed to the door to see a young rabbit standing before it.

"Hi Cream, what's up?" the fox mumbled, still not fully awake.

"Hey, Tails! I just woke up, and I was bored of staying in my room, so I wanted to see if everyone wanted to do something around town!"

"Yeah, that sounds good." Tails said as he stretched. "Unfortunately, Knuckles is too far gone to try and get him to come along" he stated, gesturing to the sleeping echidna in the room. "Are Sonic and Amy going to come?"

"I went to ask them, but their door was locked and noone answered when I knocked." Cream said in a worried voice. "Do you think they're okay?"

"Yeah, they're probably still sleeping." Tails chuckled as he thought to himself. 'They were probably up ALL night..'

"What's so funny Tails?"

"Oh, nothing. Let's get going!"

With that, they left the room, leaving Knuckles passed out in his "unique" position. His snores were still audible as the exited the inn where they had stayed.

The sun had lifted itself just over the horizon, the light dimly illuminating the pleasant scenery. The two animals felt a shock as they took their first step outside. The sun hadn't been able to radiate much of its warmth to the town in the time it had revealed itself to the quiet town. It was still very chilly, as should have been expected in the early morning. The ground was damp and made squishing sounds as they walked, the frost now melted in the recent sunlight. A few of the villagers were out and about at this time, but for the most part were still resting in their quaint huts. The few that had awoken greeted Tails and Cream kindly as they walked by.

The yellow-orange fox wrapped himself up in his two tails in an attempt to warm himself slightly. He continued to examine the sight of the town in the dawn light when he noticed Cream was shivering, though trying to hide it. It was her nature to try to keep others from worrying about her. It was something that Tails admired and, at the same time, wished she wouldn't do. She felt a soft pressure on her arm, and before she could react, Tails had pulled her close and surrounded her with his warm, fluffy tails. She could feel the warmth of his body, and his bushy tails protected her from the gentle breeze that went by, numbing whatever it touched.

"Is that a little better?" Tails questioned the young rabbit, now comfortable against him.

"Yes, thank you Tails." She had finally ceased the shaking of her small body.

"Why didn't you just tell me that you were cold?" He already knew the answer, and had asked the question more because he wanted her to know that he wanted her to be comfortable.

"I just didn't want you to worry about me." Her face turned a light shade of red as she blushed, embarrassed that he had seen right through her. "I would have survived."

Before long, the warmth of the sun had reached the city hidden in the forest, and the residents had ventured from their dens to go about their days. The canopy of the forest blocked some of the sky, but the visible part of the sky revealed no clouds or coverage. Tails and Cream spent most of the day together under the clear blue of the heavens, the perfect day for just being outdoors in the fresh air. Luckily, the townfolk recognized them as friends of Sonic's, generously supplying them with breakfast and a few things they might need once they left the town. After visiting one last store, they began heading for the inn again, hoping that their other friends might have woken up.

"Tails!" Now almost at the inn, he and Cream looked back to see Ayn running towards them. They stopped and stood motionless, aware that something must be happening for her to look as panicked as she did. She finally reached the two of them and grabbed Tails' shoulders, shaking him.

"Where is Mr. Sonic? We need help!" she yelled, clearly unable to control herself anymore.

"What's happening?!" Tails stopped her from shaking him and look her in the eyes, fearing the worst.

"We're being attacked! Hundreds of robots are attacking the city walls! Our army is too small to hold them all back! Please, we need you and your friends' help!"

Tails remembered that Sonic's door had been locked when they checked earlier that day. He looked up at the inn and started sprinting. 'I sure hope he's just sleeping' he thought to himself fearing that Sonic might not be able to help. Once inside, he located Sonic's room and shook the handle violently, almost ripping it off the door. Still locked. He realized he didn't have much time and stepped back a few feet. He had seen this on police shows, but wasn't quite sure if it would work. He kicked the door with all his might and...it didn't budge. The force of the kick sent him back a good three of foor feet, and now he was laying there on his back.

"Tails! Are you okay?!" Cream said rushing over to him.

Tails wasn't moving, just staring up at the ceiling. He was winded but camly managed to say a few words. "Can you go get Knuckles, Cream? I think he's awake now."

The rabbit hesitated slightly, and then ran to get their red friend. Tails didn't move the whole time.

"Are you going to be okay?" Ayn asked, now a bit calmer. Tails kicking the door almost looked like a cartoon, and she thought it was quite humorous, but she decided it would be rude to laugh at him after that, especially when he was going to help them fight off an army.

"Yeah, I'll be fine as soon as I can breath again." He stated with an airy voice. Just as he recovered and began to get to his feet, they saw Knuckles and Cream running down the hall. Knuckles wasted no time and punched the door open, not thinking twice about it. Tails looked at him, slightly embarrassed. "I made it looser..."

They ignored his comment as they looked inside the vacant room. Both Sonic and Amy were missing without a trace. They didn't know that Sonic had wanted to make sure they couldn't find him and had taken the note Amy wrote with him, along with anything that made it obvious where they were going.

"What do we do now?!" Ayn yelped, now very nervous. "How can we stop them?"

"Hey, we're just as good as Sonic is!" Knuckles stated. For once, Sonic wouldn't get all the glory. He started dashing outside, fists up. "Come on, lets have some fun!"

They followed him and when they finally got outside, they saw he had already gotten started with the army, a trail of parts behind him. Tails looked up to notice the once peacful blue sky was being overtaken by a black cloud as an immense aircraft loomed ever closer to the terrorized city. As far off as it was, Tails could make out a symbol on the underside of the giant airship. The face possessed a very familiar mustache and round head. It didn't take long for him to realize who was behind the attack.

"Eggman..."

A blue blur whipped across the formerly quiet plains, a wave of dirt not far behind. Since leaving Sky and Roe in a cloud of dust, Sonic had been dashing at top speed, but still saw no sign of Amy in the landscape. After all the years she had chased him, it had finally payed off. She was much faster now, though she never thought she would have to use her speed the way she was, avoiding Sonic instead of searching for him.

However, it was only a matter of time before Sonic's eyes caught sight of the pink hedgehog, still sprinting towards the horizon. Her figure was becoming more and more visible as Sonic raced towards her, the air occasionally lifting him off the ground a few inches as a result of his mach speed. 'I've never seen her move so fast!' he thought, feeling ashamed and proud at the same time. 'What the hell was I thinking?..'

Before long, Sonic had caught up with Amy and ran beside her. She knew she couldn't outrun him and started slowing to a stop. She tried to turn her head away from Sonic, but not before he was able to steal a glance, noticing her still red eyes and dried tears from crying. It was quiet for what seemed like hours, the two of them just standing there as Sonic tried to think of the words to say to make things right again. He looked down at the ground and kicked a rock that had been lying there and watched it roll a few feet before stopping, returned to an eternity of immobility. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to force words out.

"I, uh...talked to Sky...after you ran off...and..you were right..he seems like a pretty good guy..." Amy turned her head to look at Sonic, trying to listen and understand what he was saying, although she couldn't really see where he was going with the conversation at that point.

"I guess the only I can say right now is that I'm sorry...I just wish there was a better way to say it. I shouldn't have said those things before I knew the whole story...I..was just...afraid.." Sonic studied a blade of grass on the ground as he said this, feeling too guilty to look at the hedgehog he had hurt so much in the past.

Amy began to speak, her voice still sounding on the brink of tears. "What...what were you afraid of?" She asked, now with a confused look on her face. She had never heard Sonic admit to being scared of anything.

"Don't worry about it...I'm just..really glad you're okay." Sonic blushed a little as he said this. He didn't feel like he could admit any of his feelings to Amy then. He just wanted her to be the optimistic, cheery girl she always was. Then again, he thought, now might be a good time to tell her how I really feel. In the end, he decided not to say anything and just think about it a little more.

He finally managed to lift his head up and look into her green eyes. Her eyes were still watering slightly, and they glittered in the sun. Sonic noticed his heart rate increasing and felt completely unlike himself. Amy walked over slowly and hugged him, but it wasn't the way she normally hugged him. Instead of squeezing him to death, she just held him softly, her face in light contact with his.

"I forgive you. I'm sorry I blew up at you." she said quietly into his ear. The sun warmed them both, rays of light escaping through the scattered, puffy clouds and spreading its nourishment to the world. For a few minutes they just stood there, embracing each other. Sonic found that he actually liked being this close to Amy. 'Maybe I SHOULD tell her now...' he considered, his mind doing loops. It seemed like the perfect moment to him. He started to find it a little harder to breath, maybe because his heart was in his throat. He tried to make some type of sound, and started to choke out a few words when suddenly, they both felt the heat from the sun disappear, and a chill wind struck their bodies. Their eyes turned to find the source of the sudden cold breeze and discovered the cause. Way in the distance was a black cloud that was devouring the sky, covering the sun. They were too distant to know what was happening, but what they did know was that something was wrong.

"We're gonna have to finish talking about this later." Sonic said, somewhat relieved he didn't have to say anything about what he was feeling. "We'd better find out what's going on!"

"Wait! We have to find Sky and Roe first!" Amy exclaimed, worried something might have happened to them.

"Alright, let's go back to where we left them, that's as good a start as any!" With that, they tore off towards the ominous blackness, side by side the whole way.

About ten minutes away (at Sonic speed), Sky and Roe laid on the soft, green grass, lost in ecstasy. It had been so long since they had seen each other, and now each of their hearts felt complete, no longer aching and broken. They held each other close but said nothing, but cherished just being so near. They had been in such deep euphoria that neither of them had noticed the air grow cold or the two hedgehogs standing just a few feet from them. Only when Amy interrupted did they finally realize the difference around them.

"Aww, you two looked absolutely adorable!!" Sonic rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, cute, but I think you guys might want to take a look that way" he stated, pointing towards the great cloud in the distance. It was growing, that much was known, and the air seemed to be getting more chill by the second.

"Wait, that looks like it's around where the city is..." Sky observed, torn over what to do. On one hand, he despised the inhabitants for imprisoning him there and figured they were getting what they deserved. He couldn't deny his nature, however, and felt obliged to help them. Even a peasant, given worse treatment than the stray animals living off of the refuse of the city, could have compassion and value for the lives of others.

"Come on! We've got to help!" Sky was completely confused. Those words had come from Roe's mouth, but why would she be so quick to jump to their aid?

"You're going to help them just like that after they exiled you?! Why should we do anything at all?!" Sky barked out, his mind set on the years he had spent tortured by a city that had forced Roe to flee into the wilderness. His eyes burned with rage as the last two years of his life flashed through his mind. The alphas spitting on him, the betas always mocking and harrassing him. Even the omegas looked down in shame as they passed him, chained in agony to a city he wanted nothing to do with.

"I know exactly what you're feeling," Roe said quietly, sitting down right next to him. "but they are still a part of both of us and we're responsible for helping them." Her eyes were radiant, exactly the way he remembered them six years ago when they first met. All the images dissappeared, and he felt at peace as he admired the beautiful girl sitting next to him.

"Don't let personal matters affect your judgement. If it was any other group of people, you wouldn't hesitate for a second. You have a good heart, so use it to do some good!" Sky looked down at the ground, ashamed he had even said what he did. She was right and he knew it. He felt a gentle touch under his chin that forced him to look back into Roe's eyes.

"Now let's get going before things get too bad." she said, smiling as she spoke. Another cool breeze, less violent than the first, blew by, and the grass whispered as the wind wove through it. Before long, they had leaned in closer, nuzzling each other. Slightly embarrassed by watching them display their affections (having just a few minutes earlier been only seconds away from telling Amy how he felt), Sonic looked away and interrupted.

"That's real cute 'n all, but don't we have business to take care of?" Luckily for him, it was enough to avert their attention back to the trouble they were about to face.

"We might be in for quite a ride." Sky said to Sonic, sounding cocky.

"I just hope you can keep up." Sonic retorted, equally confident in himself. With that, the four of them headed straight for the battle, tracking back to hand-made labyrinth and the city, hidden in the trees.

--


End file.
